City to Add Pre-K Efforts in Poor Areas Next Year

"Our goal is to have every city kid arrive in kindergarten ready and prepare for a lifetime of success."

-Mayor Bloomberg, September 25, 2012 on Educare, an innovative early education program, to open in Brownsville next fall

Administration for Children’s Services Commissioner Ronald Richter, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott, Susan Buffett (L to R) at early childhood education announcement at New York Public Library, Sept. 24, 2012. (credit: Rich Lamb/WCBS 880)

Hearing Mayor Bloomber's words at a news conference at a two-day education summit meeting Monday was like hearing angels sing. As you may or may not know, Bloomberg's words are core elements of our mission at HMESF. We believe that every child deserves the opportunity to succeed. 

In a major step in early education, Bloomberg and Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott announced that the city would open a new type of preschool in Brooklyn's Brownsville next fall, "introducing a cradle-to-kindergarten approach to education for very young children in poor neighborhoods."

Read more about Educare opening in Brooklyn in the New York Times article City to Add Pre-K Efforts in Poor Areas Next Year.

Home of the New HMESF Blog!

The official season of transition has begun! The leaves are beginning to change color, the chilly weather is settling in, and HMESF is launching its new blog. With our fifth year anniversary approaching, we at the Helene Marks Early Start Foundation are extremely excited for all we’ve planned in the upcoming months. The official blog will be a hub for upcoming HMESF events as well as a source for up-to-date information in the early child care and education field in New York City.

The Helene Marks Early Start Foundation is guided by the belief that every child deserves the opportunity to succeed. The foundation finds, funds, and fosters exemplary programs that offer children a healthy environment to achieve social and emotional well-being and academic success. Our library initiative provides a collection of age-appropriate books to early-age child care and childhood education programs for children ranging from ages one to three years old.

On that initiative, HMESF will be hosting a book reading and puppet show this October at Barnes and Noble featuring Richie Frieman’s Terple--Always Dream Bigger.  Awarded the Literary Classics Seal of Approval, Terple--Always Dream Bigger will not only be sold at the Barnes and Noble book reading, but will also be part of HMESF book/kid donations to child care centers in New York City.

The next few weeks will be an exciting time for HMESF as we approach our 5th anniversary in November.

Welcome to the official HMESF blog, enjoy and stay tuned!